TOUGH TIMES FOR TRINIS FLEEING TO CANADA

PEOPLE seeking to escape the hard life in Trinidad and Tobago will now face a tough time becoming residents of Canada.

The longstanding popular destination for Trinidadians and Tobagonians has cut back on the number of immigrants it will welcome from 2025 to 2027.

The North American country will reduce the number of permanent residents in 2025 and 2026 from 500,000 to 395,000 and 380,000 respectively.

A total of 365,000 migrants will be accepted in 2027.

International students and temporary foreign workers are among those affected.

The decision, announced by Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, will be a direct blow to T&T nationals attempting to flee crime and economic hard times.

Canada is a traditional home for migrating T&T nationals.

Many T&T nationals have family ties in Ontario and other Canadian provinces.

Miller said the plan is to “pause population growth” in order to ease pressures on housing, infrastructure and social services.

He said the temporary resident volume will be reduced to five per cent of Canada’s population by the end of 2026.

Canada’s population is now 41 million, with immigrants accounting for 98 per cent of the growth last year.

The Government has put a system in place to manage temporary resident arrivals.

The International Student Programme has been reformed, and eligibility requirements have been tightened for temporary workers, post-graduation work permits and work permits for their respective spouses.

Thousands of Trini work on the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Programme, in which they pick apples and other fruits.   

Immigrants, including those from T&T, are involved in health care, construction and transportation sectors.

Many are in the construction of residential homes.

Canada’s premier educational facilities have provided tertiary learning to thousands of T&T nationals.

The large number of recent migrants has led to a shortage of housing and a high cost of homes in Canada.

The authorities are hoping to right-size that matter through the reduced intake of migrants.

Miller said the changes “will make immigration work for our country so that everyone has access to quality jobs, homes and supports they need to thrive.”

During economic hard times in T&T in the 1980s, a large number of people applied for refugee protection in Canada.

Some were accepted on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

The relevant legislations and conventions were later applied more rigidly, and since then only a few applicants have been given refugee status.

A report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said the number of T&T nationals migrating to Canada is second only to those going to the US.

The report said some migrants are in managerial and professional jobs, followed by skilled trades.

For the 10 years leading up to 2012, a total of 7,072 T&T students went to
Canada.